You’ve heard it countless times before: you need to improve your eating so that you can have a healthy weight and function to your fullest potential. However, there is so much information out there about eating that it’s hard for you to grasp just what you need to do. And you may have so many questions about what you should and shouldn’t eat. While eating fewer calories can lead to weight loss, is there more you need to do in order to improve your body’s performance? Thankfully, there are quite a few ways that you can do that and just a few are listed below.

Cut Out Soda

Whether you call it pop, coke, or soda this sugary drink can be damaging to your teeth and body if consumed in excess. Soda contains excess sugar that gives you a rush when you initially drink it, but then you crash afterwards, which is never fun. Some people drink one, two, or even three cans every day and suffer from dental and weight problems because of it.

Granted, having a drink every once in a while is not going to break you, but if you consume it daily you might want to ease out your consumption. To do that there are plenty of healthier alternatives that can give you the same caffeinated rush, but without the harmful side effects. Try replacing your soda intake with some green tea, or maybe drink coffee instead, without the excessive cream and sugar of course. Speaking of caffeine, this leads to the next point.

Consume Less Caffeine

Caffeine wakes you up and keeps you going, but odds are that you’re consuming too much. Coffee with a shot of energy drink with a soda afterwards and then a tea… yeah, you’re drinking a lot. The truth is, too much caffeine can be counter-productive on your body. Why is that? It’s simple, really. You’re kicking your adrenal glands to their maximum and this can cause imbalances in your body. Besides that the effects of caffeine will start becoming less the more you drink, as your body adapts. If you drink too much close to bedtime then you’re going to suffer from horrible sleep patterns and difficulty falling asleep.

So what’s a person to do for energy? Well, you can still drink caffeine, but leave it to once or twice a day. Perhaps have a cup or two of coffee in the morning, followed by a cup of tea in the afternoon. Exercising and eating a balanced diet will give you all the energy you need, so that you don’t have to worry about putting too much caffeine in there.

Consume Enough Macro-Nutrients

Your diet needs a good balance of fat, carbs, and protein in order to function to its fullest. While reaching the perfect balance is something that is next to impossible to do without screaming, a good rule of thumb is to have 40 percent carbs, 40 percent protein, and 20 percent fat. If you don’t get those numbers exact don’t fret, but try to keep it in that given range.
A good source of each of these is included below:Fat:
Ghee
Avocado
Plant-based oils
Raw coconut oil

Carbs:
Fruit
Honey
Agave nectar

Protein:
Beans
Nuts
Seeds
Beef
Eggs
Chicken
Fish

Drink Enough Water

Water is something that’s difficult to drink too much of, but easy to not drink enough. Drinking water has many benefits. It can keep your complexion going, defeat dehydration, and provide a natural way to clean your body. However, you need to always have a water bottle with you. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink; take a sip every once in a while to keep your body going. It will thank you for it later.

Eat Plenty of Veggies

Vegetables provide plenty of nutrition but without the calories. While a good balance of other foods is important, it never hurts to put more leafy greens in your foods. Of course not everyone is a fan of vegetables, but there are ways you can implement them in your diet.

For many people, vegetables turn out to be an acquired taste. In other words, you may not like it very much the first time, but if you keep eating them, you’ll end up loving them. Try putting a little bit of vegetables in your meal and build it up from there every week. If that’s not enough, there are plenty of vegetable juice blends out there that taste great and will provide the same amount of nutrition for you.

Try to Avoid Processed Foods

In this era pre-packaged foods and fast food consumption are rampant. After all, they’re cheap and easy to make, so many just want to have a way to eat food that is convenient. However, the problem is that many of these foods are high in fats, calories, salt, or sugar, but are nutrient lacking. Having them every now and then will not kill you, but it’s best to avoid them if you want to have a healthy diet and a functioning body.

When shopping look for foods that have nutrition and are not overly processed with additives and artificial ingredients. Try looking for foods at farmers’ markets on occasion. Not only do these foods tend to be delicious, but you’re supporting the local market by doing so, which more people need to do.

Small Steps to Success

So how do you make these changes? It’s definitely not an overnight process, but instead something gradual. Changing your body’s intake of foods can be done through a slow process. Doing it all at once can be a shock to your eating habits, making it easy to go back to eating the bad foods. However, if you cut back on soda every week, start eating more and more vegetables every single day, and gradually change your diet, you can achieve a healthy diet that allows for the unhealthy foods on occasion. It’s not a difficult process, and your body will thank you for it later.